The present invention relates to a light level detecting method, and more particularly, to a light level detecting method for detecting the level of the environment light when photographing and recording an image, and providing the light level information to the user.
A conventional light level detecting method for an image photographing and recording apparatus is performed by a separate light detecting sensor as shown in FIG. 1. A light detecting sensor 11 detects the level of the environment light, and transmits that information to a control unit 12. The control unit 12 then determines whether the environment light is less than a predetermined reference level. If so, the control unit 12 outputs a light level control signal to an indicator 13, which indicates the states of either an insufficient light or a total lack of light. However, the inclusion of the separate light detecting sensor inevitably leads to an increase in the production costs.
Moreover, using a separate sensor makes it difficult to precisely determine whether the amount of light is sufficient. That is, depending on the characteristics of the lens, the iris, or the charge coupled device (CCD), the amount of light actually reaching the image photographing and recording apparatus may be different from the available environment light.